KRASNAYA POLYANA, RUSSIA — Kaitlyn Farrington, the final qualifier for the U.S. snowboard women’s halfpipe team, outrode three Olympic champions Wednesday night to earn a gold medal that even she didn’t expect.

The 24-year-old from Sun Valley, Idaho, put down “what might have been the best run I’ve done so far” in her second finals attempt at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, scoring 91.75 to edge defending gold medalist Torah Bright of Australia (91.50), 2002 champion Kelly Clark (90.75) and 2006 winner Hannah Teter (90.50), who failed to medal for the first time in three Olympics. “Up at the top I was like I’ve got nothing to lose right now so I may as well go for it.”

Six women did their second run after Farrington including the three past champions. Teter of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., who led after the first run, fell near the top. Bright and Clark of West Dover, Vt., who did not have clean first runs, came through under pressure to medal but not quite surpass first-time Olympian.

She was cheered on by her parents Gary Farrington and Suz Locke, waving signs with her photo and the slogan Cowgirl Up, going back to Kaitlyn’s swimming days when she was tired and told that by her coach to keep training.

“We knew she had the possibility,” for gold, Farrington’s father said. “Something very, very special just happened. My phone is vibrating so hard. It hasn’t stopped. I thought it was me.”

Farrington grew up on a ranch in Idaho. Her parents sold their cattle to finance her promising snowboarding career while continuing to train horses.After making the Sochi Olympic in the final U.S. qualifier in Mammoth, Calif., Farrington went straight to the X Games, where she was third with Clark winning.

“I don’t think I knew I was going to get a gold medal until right now,” Farrington said. “I was just expecting to come here and land the runs I wanted to land and hopefully be on the podium.”

Clark, Bright and Teter were among six riders advancing from qualifying straight to the final. Farrington, though, was fourth in her qualifying heat that included Bright and Teter, sending her into the semifinals. But she told Clark on Tuesday that she expected to “ride all day” and believes she benefited from extra time in the pipe during the final.

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“Semifinals was really good practice for me, and I kind of changed my run up during it and decided I wanted to do something different,” Farrington said. “It was just extra practice.”

U.S. women now have won eight of 15 halfpipe medals in five Olympics since the sport was introduced in 1998. “I’m going to dance my face off,” to celebrate her gold, Farrington said.

Four-time Olympian Clark earned her third medal and second bronze in a row. There was a lengthy wait after Clark’s final run before the score was posted that finalized the podium order and left Teter without a medal after gold and silver (2010) previously.

“To be able to land my last run, last person to go in an Olympic final is a huge achievement for me,” Clark said. “That wasn’t my cleanest, best run I’ve ever done, but for me that was my best tonight and it landed me on the podium.”

Clark said she was sore after hitting the edge of the halfpipe on her first finals run. “I left early on my cab 7,” Clark said. “Any time you leave early, you miss the vert that’s on the wall and it carries you onto the deck. I think it ended up looking pretty bad.”

Teter questioned the judging of her first run. “I thought maybe I should have a little bit of a higher score just because I did all the tricks, did them big and clean. But I love riding halfpipe. It’s an amazing job to have. I was hoping for a podium, but what can you do? Fourth is the worst position to finish.”

Arielle Gold suffered a shoulder injury warming up for qualifying. The 17-year-old from Steamboat Springs, Colo., who won at the 2013 World Championships, was unable to compete. She was not available for comment but talked to Clark on the phone before the final.

“She’s handling it like a champ,” Clark said. “I’m so impressed with that girl.”